Mission in Vorkuta
Background The Empire of the Rising Sun, bent on conquering the Soviet Union as its first goal, had by Christmas 1966 mobilized a large army and navy which would be used to invade the Soviets, too focused on Europe to notice any threat east of the Urals. While a minor garrison existed at Vladivostok and the regions close to Southeast Asia, the Arctic regions were virtually unprotected. The stationed forces were literally only numbering a couple of thousands of men in the coastal regions and even less in the inner parts. This was well known by the Imperial command after months of reconnaissance, and the Komi Republic, a minor part of the Soviet Union, was chosen for staging a second front; the forces who didn't head for the far eastern parts of Siberia or the White Sea were to secure the Komi Republic, with the primary goal being the mining city of Vorkuta - home of both one of the most impressive and one of the most patriotic town squares in Asian Russia. Vorkuta was also relatively close to the Kara Sea Naval Base, hosting the reactors powering the base where a number of Soviet ships able to interfere with the invasion fleet on its way westward were based. As a frontal attack would wake up the far larger White Sea fleet, which would be disastrous, a sneak attack was needed. It was effectively the ideal target. Vorkuta itself was in the middle of New Year's celebrations; the replacement of too religious Christmas, as religion was the opium of the masses. Christmas had only effectively been removed in the cities, and Vorkuta was full of Christmas trees and Christian icons. As nobody expected the Imperial invasion, the time for the attack couldn't have been better. Shogun Kamina would lead the attack along with Shogun Shinzo Nagama. Force Composition Imperial Forces The main part of the Japanese force stayed behind a mile away from the Soviet coast. The reason for this were the Tesla Coils guarding the coast, which would easily annihilate any force attempting a frontal attack. Soviet radar stations were also present, and they would most certainly detect the presence of a large fleet approaching the Motherland. Instead, a small portion of the invasion force was detached and sent to infiltrate the Soviet defensive lines and take them down. They were to land at the smaller, less well defended western port, mostly used for fuel storage and the servicing of smaller ships. A group of Imperial Shinobi had infiltrated Vorkuta a month before the attack and were waiting for the rest of the force to join them a couple of miles south of the landing port; while the original plan was for the ninjas to disable the Tesla Coils themselves, they had unfortunately been trapped at a Soviet sergeant's house while doing recon, not expecting him to come home with twenty dinner guests. The sergeant, having direct radio contact with the naval base, would endanger the operation if the ninjas left their hiding place, and so they stayed put. The scout group itself consisted of 250 of the Empire's finest soldiers, along with 50 Sudden Transports disguised as part of the Soviet Bullfrog fleet; in reality, the Bullfrogs were docked at the naval base. 10 of the soldiers would approach the harbour first and take down the soldiers and power, as 50 Bullfrogs appearing out of nowhere would arouse suspicion. A couple of Yari Mini-Subs waited a short distance away, waiting for the Tesla Coils to be taken offline, and would be used to sink the ships quickly. This mission was the first one as Shogun for the recently promoted Kamina, who was to lead the operation together with Shogun Shinzo Nagama. Both Shoguns were stationed on the Shogun-class battleship Tsukireiki, flagship of the 2nd Invasion Force. Soviet Forces The entire army stationed in the whole Komi Republic numbered less than 10,000 men, consisting mostly of Conscripts and Flak Troopers. However, several Tesla Troopers had been relegated to Vorkuta due to unsatisfactory combat results; the 110th Shock Platoon had infamously botched the First Battle of Brno, and the only reason that the survivors weren't sent to a Gulag was due to a clerical error; they saw the punishment as a vacation. While poor at their jobs, they still possessed deadly weaponry. There also were a couple of Rhino Tanks present. The Kara Sea fleet consisted of Stingrays, Bullfrogs and two Potemkin-class Battleships. All of the ships' crewmen were on land due to the New Year celebrations, and therefore it was crucial for the Empire to capture the city before the sailors returned to the ships. The ability to contact other naval bases in the Union would be a deadly blow to the Empire, which hoped to take the Soviet Union completely by surprise - if news reached Moscow, the army would be mobilised, threatening the invasion. The First Strike The attack was planned to start at 2330 hours on the 31st of December, the time schedule having been calculated carefully by Japanese strategists. It would take the Sudden Transports some time to reach the beaches and take out the Tesla Coils. The time plans turned out to be quite exact as when the Sudden Transports entered the waters of the western port disguised as Bullfrogs, the drivers and even some warriors could clearly see the celebrations in the city, with fireworks lighting up the sky above Vorkuta. The Imperial forces landed on the beaches and continued to the Reactors powering the Tesla Coils and Flak Cannons. The conscripts, which were guarding the port with no chance of celebrating with their comrades, didn't suspect anything when two Bullfrogs drove past in the middle of the celebrations; they had no reason to, especially since they were too drunk to notice (they had snuck in several bottles of vodka). Imperial forces moved close, waiting next to the reactors outside the ranges of the Tesla Coils and precisely four minutes past midnight the Sudden Transports uncloaked themselves, opening their doors and releasing the Imperial Warriors and Tankbusters. The Conscripts guarding the Reactors were completely taken by surprise and didn't even have time to realise what was going on before they were cut down by the Imperial Warriors, while the Tankbusters quickly destroyed the reactors. The western port was now under their control and the other Soviet forces didn’t suspect a thing. Kamina was pleased with this and ordered the rest of the scout group to join the invasion force and the Tsukireiki to prepare their Zero attack drones should the need arise. The Imperial forces received orders to knock out the power source of the eastern port, where the ships of the Kara Sea Fleet were docked. Celebration Interrupted As Vorkuta itself was about 100 miles from the coast, it would take a while for the Sudden Transports to reach the city. They disguised themselves again and drove towards Vorkuta. On the way, they reached the house where the Shinobi were hidden. The Tankbusters shot their plasma cutter cannons towards a window, signalling to the Shinobi to get ready, while simultaneously confusing the Soviet officers inside. Luckily for the Japanese, the night and vodka had made them tired, and the Shinobi could easily dispatch them and join their fellow soldiers. There was no room for the ninjas in the transport, but this was not a problem thanks to their stealth training. Sticking to the battle plan, the Japanese convoy reached Vorkuta at exactly 0204 hours. The Soviets were still completely oblivious to the invasion, with vodka as the probable culprit yet again. Most of the city population were sitting in the bars or shooting fireworks. The soldiers were only doing their guard duty in name, as most of them had joined the town in its celebration. The Imperial task force could easily reach the two barracks where the soldiers were housed, destroying them and the communications inside along with the surprised personnel. This meant that the Soviet soldiers couldn't be called upon to resume guarding the city, effectively stopping reinforcements. Not even the Tesla Troopers stationed at the Barracks were sober enough to present a threat. Now the invasion begun for real. While half of the men were to travel to the naval base and await the power going offline there, the rest spread themselves out to appear as more than the hundred and twenty five men who were present. The Japanese opened fire on the Conscripts who sat in the bars or were walking around the town. The drunken civilians fled into their houses, with those trying to resist shot by the Imperial Warriors or silently dispatched by the Shinobi. The soldiers who were conscious enough to try and contact the harbour found that the two barracks had been replaced by piles of rubble. The city was in chaos, and the Imperials could easily take advantage of it. The Tankbusters, meanwhile, approached the town square, now empty as the civilians had fled. They destroyed the Soviet monuments, planting Japanese flags on top of the rubble, and then began launching the remaining firework rockets so as to not worry the naval base personnel. In the middle of the chaos, five of the Shinobi headed for the Vorkuta Super Reactor, one of the largest Super Reactors in the area. Infiltrating the building, they killed the reactor staff swiftly and cut off the power by destroying the control modules, darkening the city of Vorkuta and even the distant naval base. The Soviet soldiers stationed at the base were annoyed by the impractical power outage; after all, stearine candles weren't cheap, especially in rural Russia. Sinking Ships Now was the time for the Imperial navy to move in; the Tesla Coils were offline, and the sky was pitch black. With the port open to attack, the fleet's ''Yari''-class Mini-Subs were sent in to destroy the enemy fleet; the relatively small force would be able to easily evade detection in the darkness of the night. Having been given their orders, the twelve subs sped through the cold waters of the Kara Sea to the Soviet naval base. Indeed, the Soviets didn't know what hit them when torpedoes suddenly struck two of the Stingrays stationed at the port, damaging them enough for them to sink to the depths of the Kara Sea. The port guards, sleeping on their posts, were woken up abruptly by the noise and called the rest of the soldiers. Unfortunately for the Soviets, only a few were sober and awake enough to receive the message, so the Yari subs could continue wrecking havoc on the Stingrays and Bullfrogs. The stationed Rhino Tanks which approached the harbour were destroyed by the other half of the scout force, who emerged from the shadows to help their navy. The few soldiers who came to aid their fleet were also taken care of. However, on the CCCP Vatutin, the personnel had held a private party on New Year's Eve, and had all fallen asleep in the cafeteria. The sound of their fellow ships sinking woke them up as well, and they were sober enough to act. While they didn't see the commotion, they heard where the torpedoes where launched from, and moved to fire at the submarines. In fact, two of them were rammed by the Vatutin, but no fire ever hit the subs; the rest of them submerged immediately, and the gunner, who was still not fully sober, accidently fired at the dock, destroying a Tesla Coil and some storage facilities instead. Knowing that they needed to act, the infantry started firing at the ship as well. While the bullets weren't very effective, the Tankbuster plasma cutters managed to break one of the ship's cannons. When the gunner tried to fire it again, the cannon blew itself apart, taking a fair part of the ship with it. Now that it was disabled, the Yaris rose from the water again and finished the ship off. Terrified sailors jumped into the water, and subsequently froze to death; not even Russian sailors could handle water almost cold enough to freeze - in fact, any other year the waters would have been frozen, but the unusually warm winter of 1966-67 allowed the sea to remain unfrozen, a necessity for the Imperial attack. With the only manned ship of the Kara Sea fleet heading towards the sea bottom, there was nothing left to stop the Imperial force. Ship after ship met their demise, as the Imperial soldiers secured the area and captured or dispatched of the remaining Soviet soldiers. Vorkuta had fallen. Aftermath Of course, the Soviets couldn't have possibly failed to notice their naval base being captured. The Soviet officers frantically mobilised the armies stationed in their homeland, and called home as many troops as could be spared from Europe. Allied military analysts believe that the Imperial invasion played a large part in the success of the Allied recapture of Western Europe, even if the Imperial invasion hit them as well. As the Japanese set up their own base at the former Soviet facility, the 2nd Invasion Force regrouped for a day in Vorkuta before heading south. Shogun Kamina, congratulated for the victory by the Emperor, was to lead most of the invasion force on the Russian rivers, while Shinzo Nagama was to strike westwards, towards the population centres of Russia. Propaganda films of the Japanese victory, called The Death of Father Frost, were spread over the Soviet Union, and also became popular in the Empire itself. The destroyed Soviet monuments were quickly replaced with Imperial ditos, with the civilians accepting foreign rule as long as their lives weren't interfered with. In order to ease the dissent, the Japanese refrained from imposing Japanese culture too quickly, instead sneaking in propaganda wherever they could. To this day, the citizens of Vorkuta are generally more supportive of the Empire than the rest of the Russian population. Category:Battles